New on DVD: 'Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,' 'Muppets,' and more

In this film image released by Sony Pictures, Rooney Mara is shown in a scene from "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo." (AP Photo/Sony, Columbia Pictures, Merrick Morton)

Washington Post

The following films are available on home video this week.

"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" (R, 158 minutes, Sony Pictures Entertainment): Handsomely filmed and impeccably acted, this film is at once satisfying and underwhelming, a pristine, coolly atmospheric procedural thriller. A wealthy industrialist named Henrik Vanger hires Stockholm journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) to research a decades-long mystery involving Vanger's niece and her disappearance. Blomkvist is joined by Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), the sullen, leather-clad computer hacker hired by Vanger to vet Blomkvist's record, then hired by Blomkvist to assist in the case. The movie's most unsettling scenes, a brutal rape and an equally torturous act of revenge, are staged for maximum shock value. Even at its most sordid, the film remains watchable largely thanks to Mara's embodiment of Lisbeth's explosive, righteous rage and covert vulnerability. Contains brutal violent content, including rape and torture, strong sexuality, graphic nudity and profanity. Extras: commentary by Fincher. Also, on Blu-ray: the "Vangar Archives" featurettes "Men Who Hate Women," character profiles, on location featurette, post-production and promotion featurettes.

"The Muppets" (PG, 103 minutes, Disney): It's both a delightful family film about the Muppets and a winking, self-referential satire about how lame the Muppets are. Kermit has disappeared from public view; Fozzie Bear is in a second-rate cover band; and Animal is in anger-management therapy. Just about the only one who has landed on her feet is Miss Piggy, editor of French Vogue. What sets the plot in motion is a visit to Los Angeles by Gary (Jason Segel), Mary (Amy Adams) and Walter (Gary's somewhat co-dependent puppet brother). Walter, a Muppets groupie, can't quite accept the fact that his heroes are washed up. Walter sets out to reunite the Muppets for one last show, the proceeds from which will be used to save the decrepit Muppet Studios from an evil developer. So far so corny. What saves "The Muppets" from itself is a sharp eye for just how silly all of this is. Directed by James Bobin and co-written by Segel and Nicholas Stoller, the film is sweet without being saccharine. Contains some flatulence-related humor. DVD extras: commentaries with Segel, Bobin and Stoller; extended blooper reel; screen test featurette, and "Disney Intermission," which allows the viewer to press "pause" and watch as the Muppets take over the screen and entertain until the movie resumes playing.

"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" (R, 127 minutes, Universal Studios Home Entertainment): "Trust no one, Jim," the British spy chief known as Control says as the film opens. "Especially no one in the mainstream." With that advice — delivered by John Hurt — the game is deliciously afoot in Tomas Alfredson's long-awaited adaptation of John le Carre's Cold War-era spy novel. Jim Prideaux and his boss, Control, are both working for the British intelligence service MI6 in1973 as the film opens, when the Cold War is at its height and Control is certain that MI6 has been infiltrated by a mole. Control sends Jim to Hungary, where the events that transpire will have inevitable reverberations back in London. There, veterans engage in silent-but-deadly bureaucratic knife fights, all the while being impassively observed by the masterfully reticent career spook George Smiley (Gary Oldman). As a stylistic and narrative throwback, Alfredson's adamantly un-thrilling procedural reminds viewers of an era when viewers allowed themselves to be entertained by a good yarn about a few colorful or at least colorlessly compelling characters. Contains violence, some sexuality, nudity and profanity. DVD extras: commentary with Alfredson and Oldman, and interviews with Oldman, Alfredson, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy and screenwriter Peter Straughan. Also, on Blu-ray: deleted scenes, a "First Look" featurette and an interview with le Carre.

"Hop" (PG, 90 minutes, Universal Studios Home Entertainment): Ins tores on Friday. "Hop" offers a glimmer of amusement, but only to kids still young enough to believe in the Easter Bunny. Director Tim Hill's holiday tale opens on Easter Island, where the Easter Bunny (voiced by Hugh Laurie) oversees a Willy Wonka-esque factory of chicks and bunnies creating the candy-filled baskets that he delivers to children around the world. Mr. Bunny plans to retire and pass the reins to his adolescent son E.B. (Russell Brand), but the teen rabbit doesn't want to succeed his pop; he wants to be a drummer. He takes a one-way rabbit-hole trip to Hollywood, where he first winds up among the bunnies at the Playboy Mansion, then the windshield of another parental disappointment, Fred O'Hare (James Marsden). E.B. guilts Fred into providing a place to stay and helping him with his rockstar dreams. Contains mild rude humor. DVD extras: Four making-of featurettes, including "Russell Brand's Kid Crack Ups." Also, on Blu-ray: three more featurettes.